SHIMOGA: Concerned over the poor pass percentage in Shimoga district in the SSLC examination held in March/April 2005, the Department of Public Instruction has organised a seminar in association with the Zilla Sahitya Parishat and the Adichunchanagiri Education Trust here on Thursday to go into the reasons for the district's poor performance in the examination and to take corrective steps.

Headmasters, representatives of school development management committees (SDMCs), representatives of aided and unaided schools and two students from each school will share their experiences at the seminar being organised for the first time here.

The Deputy Director of Public Instruction, S.L. Chauvan, said here on Monday that what prompted his department to take the initiative is the poor performance of the district in the SSLC examination.

As against the ninth place it secured the previous year, the district has had to contend with the 18th place this year, he said.

This is accompanied by a fall in the pass percentage from 71 last year to 62 this year, he said and added that the average pass percentage in the State is 68. "This is a cause for concern."

Mr. Chauvan noted that during discussions with headmasters of schools which have recorded the lowest pass percentage, he came to know that the schools encountered some problems, which prompted him to visit such schools to oversee the teaching methods.

Core subjects

"In many schools, I suggested that the core subjects be taught by particular teachers only," he said and added that there are really good teachers in government schools.

"What is required is proper planning by the headmasters to utilise their services."

Mr. Chauvan said that as the first corrective step, "subject clubs" have been set up where senior and experienced teachers will take special classes for junior teachers to update their teaching skills.

Shortage of teachers

He noted that there is a shortage of teachers in 21 unaided schools while aided schools have stopped recruiting teachers. But these problems are absent in the 88 government schools where the pass percentage in the SSLC examination is far more satisfactory than that of aided or unaided schools, he said.

The president of the zilla sahitya parishat, D. Manjunath, said two sessions will be held as part of the seminar. While "Yashogathe" will deal with the success stories of meritorious students, "Avalokana" will review the performance of schools which have failed to register good pass percentages.

He said it is surprising that schools which were expected to record better performance have fared badly, which needs to be looked into.

Mr. Manjunath said 1,500 teachers, students and representatives of SDMCs, apart from officials of the Department of Public Instruction, will participate in the sessions.

Valedictory function

The MLAs in the district have been asked to participate in the valedictory function so that they can take up the problems being faced by the schools at the appropriate forum.

The Director of the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Council, T.M. Kumar, will inaugurate the seminar.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Shimoga Zilla Panchayat, Shivakumar, will be the chief guest.

The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, D.H. Shankaramurthy, will address the gathering at the valedictory function. Meritorious students will be honoured at the function.

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